Halo: Ghosts of Onyx by Eric S. Nylund Read Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Eric S. Nylund
AFOREMENTIONED OPERATION (SEE ATTACHED MISSION PROFILE) TO INVESTIGATE POSSIBLE REBEL ACTIVITY ON THE DECOMMISSIONED CONSTRUCTION PLATFORM 966A, UNOFFICIALLY NAMED STATION DELPHI, A CATASTROPHIC MALFUNCTION OF A THRUSTER PACK (MODEL 050978, UNIT SERIAL #82.10923.192) OCCURRED.
AT 1000 HOURS, A THRUSTER MALFUNCTION PROPELLED SPARTAN-051 OFF MISSION AND INTO INTERPLANETARY SPACE.
IMMEDIATE RESCUE ATTEMPTS COMMENCED WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF THE UNSC PROWLER CIRCUMFERENCE, JOINED ON 1/13/2535, 1105 HOURS, BY THE UNSC FRIGATE TANNENBERG .
THREE HUNDRED TWENTY-TWO MINUTES AFTER PROJECTED OXYGEN IN SPARTAN-051'S VARIANT-V MJOLNIR SUIT EXPIRED, OPERATION TERMINATED AS NEARBY COVENANT ACTION (SEE ATTACHED REFERENCES) PROMPTED AN IMMEDIATE CALL TO ACTION OF ALL NEARBY UNSC FORCES.
CAUSE OF THRUSTER MALFUNCTION REMAINS UNKNOWN, PENDING FURTHER INVESTIGATION, BUT IT IS HYPOTHESIZED THAT A PARTIALLY DECOMMISSIONED SHAW-FUJIKAWA TRANSLIGHT ENGINE CORE ON THE PLATFORM AND IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO SPARTAN-051 AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT MAY HAVE CAUSED A SERIES OF CATASTROPHIC ELECTRICAL MALFUNCTIONS. ANOMALOUS ELECTRICAL ACTIVITY ALSO OBSCURED FURTHER, LATER RESCUE EFFORTS IN THE REGION.
PLATFORM 966A HAS BEEN TAGGED WITH A HAZNAV SATELLITE, PENDING HMAT TEAM DISPATCH (FLEETCOM ORDER D-88934).
SPARTAN-051 S TATUS: MISSING IN ACTION.
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CHAPTER
FIV E
1950 HOURS, DECEMBER 14, 2531 (MILITARY CALENDAR) \ ABOARD UNSC POINT OF NO RETURN, LOCATION CLASSIFIED
Kurt woke up in bed, an osmotic IV in his arm, and nearby monitors displaying his vital signs, blood composition, and brain-oxygen saturation levels.
He surmised he was in a hospital, although there was no call
button, and no obvious door. There was also a camera mounted in the corner of the ceiling. Kurt felt the familiar subsonic thrum around him, and he relaxed. He was on a spaceship. Although he preferred boot-on-dirt, anywhere was better than hard vacuum.
He lowered the bed's railing, and swung his legs over the edge. Pain lanced up his side. Cracked ribs—he'd had them many times. Bruises covered his pale skin; they were especially livid on his shoulders, stomach, and waist. He checked in the mirror for injuries, and then ran his hand over the long black stubble on his head and face. He was intact… but how long had he been unconscious?
The wall slid apart and a balding man entered. Curiously he wore an Army uniform, pinned with the eagle insigne of a colonel. His dark eyes fixed upon Kurt.
"Sir!" Kurt started to stand and salute.
"At ease, soldier," the Colonel said.
Kurt checked his motion. He opened his mouth to correct the Colonel's error, but fell silent. Naval NCOs were never called "soldiers," but in Kurt's experience, officers. Army or otherwise, never appreciated correction unless lives were at stake.
The Colonel's continued stare made Kurt uneasy. In fact, several things contributed to his unease. He was on a UNSC ship, receiving medical care, but how had he gotten here, and why was an Army colonel interested in him?
"I am James Ackerson," the Colonel said. He then did a curious thing: he held out his hand to shake.
This was a rare occurrence. Usually no one wanted to touch a Spartan, let alone shake their hand.
Kurt took Ackerson's hand and gingerly squeezed it.
Ackerson. Kurt knew that name. There had been conversations between Dr. Halsey and Chief Mendez. Ackerson had come up a dozen times, and from their inflection and body language Kurt had surmised he was not their friend.
Kurt was aware that everyone in the UNSC had the same basic goal: protecting humanity from all threats. Not everyone, however, agreed on how that mandate should be executed… which led to internal conflict. Kurt understood this the way he understood basic precepts of a Shaw-Fujikawa translight engine. He grasped the underlying theoretical principles, but the nuances and the actual application of that knowledge remained a mystery to him.
Most likely this colonel was on
AT 1000 HOURS, A THRUSTER MALFUNCTION PROPELLED SPARTAN-051 OFF MISSION AND INTO INTERPLANETARY SPACE.
IMMEDIATE RESCUE ATTEMPTS COMMENCED WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF THE UNSC PROWLER CIRCUMFERENCE, JOINED ON 1/13/2535, 1105 HOURS, BY THE UNSC FRIGATE TANNENBERG .
THREE HUNDRED TWENTY-TWO MINUTES AFTER PROJECTED OXYGEN IN SPARTAN-051'S VARIANT-V MJOLNIR SUIT EXPIRED, OPERATION TERMINATED AS NEARBY COVENANT ACTION (SEE ATTACHED REFERENCES) PROMPTED AN IMMEDIATE CALL TO ACTION OF ALL NEARBY UNSC FORCES.
CAUSE OF THRUSTER MALFUNCTION REMAINS UNKNOWN, PENDING FURTHER INVESTIGATION, BUT IT IS HYPOTHESIZED THAT A PARTIALLY DECOMMISSIONED SHAW-FUJIKAWA TRANSLIGHT ENGINE CORE ON THE PLATFORM AND IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO SPARTAN-051 AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT MAY HAVE CAUSED A SERIES OF CATASTROPHIC ELECTRICAL MALFUNCTIONS. ANOMALOUS ELECTRICAL ACTIVITY ALSO OBSCURED FURTHER, LATER RESCUE EFFORTS IN THE REGION.
PLATFORM 966A HAS BEEN TAGGED WITH A HAZNAV SATELLITE, PENDING HMAT TEAM DISPATCH (FLEETCOM ORDER D-88934).
SPARTAN-051 S TATUS: MISSING IN ACTION.
←
^
→
CHAPTER
FIV E
1950 HOURS, DECEMBER 14, 2531 (MILITARY CALENDAR) \ ABOARD UNSC POINT OF NO RETURN, LOCATION CLASSIFIED
Kurt woke up in bed, an osmotic IV in his arm, and nearby monitors displaying his vital signs, blood composition, and brain-oxygen saturation levels.
He surmised he was in a hospital, although there was no call
button, and no obvious door. There was also a camera mounted in the corner of the ceiling. Kurt felt the familiar subsonic thrum around him, and he relaxed. He was on a spaceship. Although he preferred boot-on-dirt, anywhere was better than hard vacuum.
He lowered the bed's railing, and swung his legs over the edge. Pain lanced up his side. Cracked ribs—he'd had them many times. Bruises covered his pale skin; they were especially livid on his shoulders, stomach, and waist. He checked in the mirror for injuries, and then ran his hand over the long black stubble on his head and face. He was intact… but how long had he been unconscious?
The wall slid apart and a balding man entered. Curiously he wore an Army uniform, pinned with the eagle insigne of a colonel. His dark eyes fixed upon Kurt.
"Sir!" Kurt started to stand and salute.
"At ease, soldier," the Colonel said.
Kurt checked his motion. He opened his mouth to correct the Colonel's error, but fell silent. Naval NCOs were never called "soldiers," but in Kurt's experience, officers. Army or otherwise, never appreciated correction unless lives were at stake.
The Colonel's continued stare made Kurt uneasy. In fact, several things contributed to his unease. He was on a UNSC ship, receiving medical care, but how had he gotten here, and why was an Army colonel interested in him?
"I am James Ackerson," the Colonel said. He then did a curious thing: he held out his hand to shake.
This was a rare occurrence. Usually no one wanted to touch a Spartan, let alone shake their hand.
Kurt took Ackerson's hand and gingerly squeezed it.
Ackerson. Kurt knew that name. There had been conversations between Dr. Halsey and Chief Mendez. Ackerson had come up a dozen times, and from their inflection and body language Kurt had surmised he was not their friend.
Kurt was aware that everyone in the UNSC had the same basic goal: protecting humanity from all threats. Not everyone, however, agreed on how that mandate should be executed… which led to internal conflict. Kurt understood this the way he understood basic precepts of a Shaw-Fujikawa translight engine. He grasped the underlying theoretical principles, but the nuances and the actual application of that knowledge remained a mystery to him.
Most likely this colonel was on
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